


Make for My Heart as Their Home

by binarystarkillers



Series: TLW Week 2020 [5]
Category: The Long Walk - Richard Bachman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, I'm so sorry, M/M, Once again I am so sorry, no beta we die like robins, this made me sad to write, tlw week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:21:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24113479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/binarystarkillers/pseuds/binarystarkillers
Summary: Blood turned nearly clear when mixed with enough water. Half curious, he watched it run down his fingertips, the mother-of-pearl colour strangely mesmerizing as he pulled his screaming body along step by agonizing step.
Relationships: Ray Garraty & Peter McVries, Ray Garraty/Peter McVries
Series: TLW Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726636
Comments: 10
Kudos: 14





	Make for My Heart as Their Home

**Author's Note:**

> 05: Alternate Victor

Blood turned nearly clear when mixed with enough water. Half curious, he watched it run down his fingertips, the mother-of-pearl colour strangely mesmerizing as he pulled his screaming body along step by agonizing step.

“McVries?”

His head impossibly heavy, he craned his head to the side to meet Garraty’s eyes. He tried to speak, but all that came out was a creaking noise somewhere between a groan and a hum. He could taste blood in the back of his throat.

“You doing okay, man?”

McVries shrugged, and his joints rubbed together like sandpaper, sparking red-hot embers into his bones.

“Just a little longer, Pete,” Garraty said quietly, and drifted closer to McVries’ side. “Not much more.”

“Why?”

It was the first thing he had said since Garraty had pulled him to his feet, tears streaming down his burnt skin as he begged McVries to stay alive, please, for him.

And, like a fool, he had complied. 

Stebbins was walking ahead of them confidently, shoulders thrown back and his pace lively. He looked like he’d just gotten some great news, and maybe he had. Looking up at Stebbins, McVries reviewed his plan one more time, ignoring the guilt rising in him. Stebbins was annoying, yeah, but he didn’t deserve to die the way he would. Maybe he would apologize to him right before. 

“Ray?”

Garraty shrugged, his once bright eyes dark and shadowed. “Dunno. Just… tired.”

McVries smiled, and some skin on the left side of his face split open. “Join the club, Ray, old sport.”

“Shut up,” Garraty said, and shuffled a little closer to McVries, as if he wanted to lean against him but couldn’t bring himself to. For a moment, McVries considered pulling the smaller boy against his side, but decided against it. Garraty, in a lot of ways, was as much of a mystery to him as McVries was to him, and there was no telling how he’d react. 

And besides, any way he’d react would hurt him. What was it that Pearson had said, when he thought he couldn’t hear? _'He’s like a starving man gobbling up laxatives.’ ‘He ought to be wearing a BEAT ME HARD sign. I wonder what he’s trying to make up for.’_

Was he really that transparent?

Did it matter?

All he knew is that basic human desire, underneath all the bluster and merciful lies people tell themselves. He didn’t want to make Ray angry at him. He didn’t want to die alone.

“I’m tired, too,” McVries said, his voice stripped of its teasing tone.

Garraty smiled, and for a second he looked like the boy McVries had met at the start line, a million years ago. He hesitated, and then took another step towards McVries so that their sides were pressed together - not leaning on one another, just a source of comfort, a silent promise of you’re not alone and I’m here.

Garraty was a few inches shorter than McVries, and the gentle breeze made his hair tickle McVries’ neck, but neither of them moved away. This couldn’t count as breaking the promise, did it? They weren’t helping each other, and anyway, McVries was already planning to break that promise.

The crowds had finally quieted down from the frenzy they had worked themselves into when Ray had almost died dragging him to safety. They were both walking with three warnings, mere seconds away from buying their tickets, teetering on the edge of hell. The crowd had gone more rabid than they had been when any of the Walkers died, even when Olson ticketed the soldier. They had been writhing and screaming, baying for blood. His blood.

Now, though, they had seemed to lose their momentum, the wildfire of their bloodlust reduced to a simmer, a coiled snake waiting to strike. It was probably bad that he found that restful, he thought with no small amount of sardonicism. But, hell, you had to take what you could get, right?

The sound of feet hitting pavement sounded like the beat of a drum, and Pete felt his eyelids slowly begin to droop, the bone-weary exhaustion finally taking over as his eyes slid shut, his body carrying itself forward on pure muscle memory. 

He dimly relished the feeling of darkness, before his mind slipped away from him.

“Pete.”

McVries groaned. “What?

Garraty didn’t say anything, and Pete cracked his eyes open. 

“You have a sister, right?”

“Yeah. Wh-why?”

“It’s a lie. All of it.” Garraty’s voice sounded absolutely wrecked.

“Ray, what are you talking about?”

Garraty’s warmth disappeared from his side for a moment, and McVries only had a second to mourn the loss of contact before Ray kissed him.

Ray’s lips were chapped, and his mouth was hot. His hand reached up to cup Pete’s cheek, his thumb resting atop Pete’s scar. Shocked, McVries froze, and Garraty pulled back, his wide eyes full of tears. 

Far too late, Pete realized what this was. A goodbye. He whirled around, and sure enough, there was Stebbins, eagle-spread in the distance, his purple pants now stained with red. For a second, Pete wondered why Ray and he had walked so far after he’d fallen, but looking into Ray’s eyes, he figured he could guess the answer. 

“Warning! First warning, 61.”

“Warning! Third warning, 47.”

“No.”

“Pete-”

“Ray, no. No, no, please, keep walking, _please_.”

“No, Pete.”

“What about your girl, huh? What about Jan, you said you love her, you said you’d get married, Ray, you’d get married, please, Ray, you have to keep walking.”

Ray just smiled as he turned away, walking towards the guards. His whole body was trembling with fear as he walked, leaving McVries frozen behind him. He turned back to McVries as the soldiers lifted their guns, and Pete met his eyes, tears falling from his own.

The gunshot echoed under the moon.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic made me cry. I'm sorry. If you were wondering, Garraty's line of "It's a lie. All of it." is referring to his life outside the Walk.  
> My Tumblr is binarystarkillers!


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